After going through rehab, IOP, and OP treatments several times, I realized that part of my tendency to relapse was due to where I live and the amount of travel I do. I also found out the eCounseling or online therapy was the solution for me. I live in a rural area that does not have much access to licensed therapists that are experienced in substance abuse. And even if there was, I spend a lot of time traveling for work, which made it hard to see a therapist on a regular basis anyway. I heard about using eCounseling Essentials for my outpatient treatment from a friend and it has be amazing, so I wanted to share it with the community here on Addiction Land. eCounseling Essentials does all their therapy sessions over HIPAA compliant video calls. At my appointed time, I can login from anywhere I have a connection and do a 50-minute session with my therapist. I love it!

Right now they are offering free trials too. You can do a full 50-minute free trial with no obligation just to see if you like it. That’s how I started and I was surprised to find out that they didn’t even want my credit card before starting the trial, there really was no obligation. The therapist was wonderful and I like the online therapy platform we used. It was so easy and convenient. I have been using it for my OP treatment for several months now and I am so glad I found it. I hope this is helpful for someone, as it has been for me.

Why The Stigma of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Holds Everyone Back

Stigma is the look on their face when they find out you've done drugs. It's the judgment that crossed their minds. It's the assumption that you must have a lesser mental capacity than most. It's having to lie about your past for fear of being viewed as a criminal. It's not always obvious, except to the addict and likely to those who have loved an addict. Common misconceptions include thinking that willpower can cure addiction, or that more severe punishments will motivate addicts to stop using. Many even think that terming addiction a ‘disease’ is just an excuse. When it comes to addiction recovery, this stigma can be the biggest hurdle of all.

Stigma increases the difficulty individuals and families face when seeking the help they desperately need. This results in many people preferring to delay or avoid treatment rather than face the stigma from co-workers, managers, friends, and even family. This tends to only deepens the isolation and the addictions. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has estimated that 22.7 million Americans need drug and alcohol addiction treatment, but only 2.5 million people receive it. That's less than a one in ten.

I have been using meth for nearly twenty years and have managed to live otherwise pretty healthy. I don't lead the typical meth lifestyle and I eat and sleep and get lots of exercise. I even have a job where I help out other addicts. I am very isolated though and have no friends anymore and am very alone which I think makes it more difficult when trying to quit. I really want to try though because I don't want to have to go away to rehab or something. I would like to think that I can do it on my own. I am just seeing what kind of resources and supports there are out there and hopefullyconnect with some others that are going through similar stuff as me. I am just not feeling overly confident right now. I appreciate any advice i can find about quitting.

After posting wild-eyed Southern Boys I realized I had sort of left the story open ended. Melvin ended up doing time for attempted capital murder. He did a long stretch in TDC. Because he continued to kill even after he was incarcerated, it was speculated that he would never get out. However the wheels of Justice do grind although slowly and he is now a free man. Paula Patton continue on in a life of meth addiction ultimately leading to her incarceration after being on probation for meth in four counties. She is in jail today.

I wanted to take a minute to discuss the progression of Meth over the years. When I started out doing it in 1986 it was called P2P. It was a far superior high than the drugs that followed. During the P2P days it was much more economical than its antecedentes. A very small amount was all that was required for a several-day high. One in which the user with perfectly satisfied for several days before beginning to want more. Its lineage goes like this P2P followed by anhydrous ammonia followed by/or accompanied by red phosphorus followed by today's meth ice. Ice is like a meth addicts crack. It's got little in the way of staying power as compared to its predecessors, but its what is most readily available. But when injected it does have a significant rush. Different people are attracted to different things when it comes to drugs. Some people are all about the rush. They prefer to do drugs that have an immediate intoxicating effect. When shooting ice, the user gets what you would call a sort of blow in your lungs. Almost an immediate expansion of your lungs. Hopefully to be followed by what users term "leg". As I said different people are attracted to different types. Some people will shop around for the best rush, other people we'll hold out for something with a little bit of staying power. Those who hold out want to stay awake sometimes days at a time. Back in the anhydrous, red phosphorus days, it was not unusual to locate meth that would keep you awake. Nothing however could compare to the days of P2P. Before authorities bottlenecked the purchase of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, person after person taught another person, the black magic of cooking it. To the point where meth cooks were quite common. Amateur chemists, we're cooking at ounces and pounds of Meth at a time in a clandestine labs everywhere. I can only speak in the past tense because I have limited knowledge on where they're cooking it today. What I hear from the people that I know they are still involved with meth manufacturing and delivery tell me most of it originates in Mexico.

The most important thing that I can tell you about meth, in any form is that it's highly illegal. Possession, distribution, manufacturing, any traffic or trading of it in any form, is punishable by incarceration in every state in the United States. There is no safe place, nor safe way to be associated with it at all. It's all harmful, poisonous, and life-threatening. It will steal your health, your teeth and your future, your hopes, your dreams. It will rob you of your family. It's like the Grim Reaper. It's so very hard to shake off this particular monkey.

If you've never tried it for God sake don't. If you've tried it and find yourself captive by it, never give up the fight to get off it. You've got to keep trying or you for sure will never beat it. You never know which time will be the last time. Whether you beat it or whether they bury you with it. It's not glamorous or exciting or fun. It is a life changer, for the worse. It should come accompanied by a skull and cross bones. In a lifetime of disastrous decisions the one I would change, more so than any other would be the day I picked up a needle and a spoonful of meth.